Trip Report for Carowinds
6/7/04
Crowds/Weather: Light/Sunny
Park Rating
Mike: 3 out of 5
Mike’s Park Comments: Carowinds was a bit of a disappointment. A regional park with no real destination attractions, Carowinds also suffered from some small quibbles that annoyed us.
The biggest disappointment was that Thunder Road (backwards) was not running. At Kings Dominion, Rebel Yell running backwards was the 2nd best experience in the park for me. Thunder Road was an even better coaster then Rebel Yell forward, so I really regret us not being able to ride it backward.
The coasters here are ok, not really the best. The bag policy and locker situation on Borg Assimilator is offensive, as is a similar situation on their water coaster. The park also closed an hour earlier then the website stated, which was understandable given the attendance but still annoying.
Top Gun, the B&M suspended coaster, is the reason to visit the park, and a good reason it is. Action packed and intense, Top Gun is near flawless and close to US top 10 steel material (if not top 10, I can’t say until this trip is done).
With only Top Gun to draw me, I don’t think I’ll be back to Carowinds, and don’t know if I can rec it as a destination park. If you’re in the area, absolutely swing by for Top Gun, but I’d wait for something else before I bought a plane ticket just for Carowinds.
Clarisse: 2.5 out of 5
Clarisse’s Park Comments: This park was from the twilight zone. It was almost empty. It seems like Carowinds is Paramount’s ghetto park. They get away with it since there is little attendance (especially on the day we went) and they have no competition, since there are no other parks around.
Hurler
Mike: 3 out of 5
Comments: More violent then the Kings Dominion Hurler while being less fun with less air. Still, 2 good hills make this coaster worthwhile.
Clarisse: 1.3 out of 5
Comments: This ride is painful with little to no payoff. Its rough and uncomfortable with significant jackhammering, even in the second seat! Wear 2 sports bras, one on top of the other; since this ride is so rough that one isn’t sufficient, two might not be either. I can’t comment on the ride in the other seats because I refused to ride it again. Roller coasters are supposed to be fun; this coaster is not. This coaster has 2 moments of serious airtime. It popped me out of my seat, and I was roughly held in by the seatbelt. One thing that Hurler has going for it is that it is a very pretty wooden coaster. It seems like it’s a different track layout from the Kings Dominion Hurler. Who the hell names a rollercoaster ‘Hurler’…the person that came up with that idea should be fired.
Thunder Road (forward)
Mike: 3.5 out of 5
Comments: With the backwards side closed (meaning 1 side running on a 2 side coaster), we were disappointed. Still, this is a decent enough wood coaster, better forward then both Rebel Yell and Rolling Thunder, the 2 I’ve found very similar to this one so far.
Clarisse: 2.4 out of 5
Comments: On the queue for this attraction, I over heard one girl trying to convince her friend to ride. She said, “its not as jerky as Hurler” she’s right but its not saying much. This ride is rough; even with a sports bra on I held my tits. This attraction is supposed to be a dueling wooden coaster one side going frontwards and the other backwards. Unfortunately they were only running the frontwards side and would not be opening the backwards side on the day we visited. Which is a shame cause backwards coasters are so much more fun.
Vortex
Mike: 3.25 out of 5
Comments: Intense coaster detracted by being an uncomfortable stand up. As it is it’s fun, just uncomfortable.
Clarisse: 2.9 out of 5
Comments: This is a standup coaster that is too short and has some head banging. It’s not a bad ride, but its not that good either. I’m thoroughly convinced that standup coasters contribute to spider and varicose veins because of the forceful rushes of blood to the feet. Oh I also greyed out.
Ricochet
Mike: 3.5 out of 5
Comments: Why is this mouse so much better then Kings Dominion’s counterpart? Well, it feels less braked for one thing, and it just gives a better, more fun, ride.
Clarisse: 3.2 out of 5
Comments: This ride is better than its Kings Dominion twin. It’s not braked as much in the first half. The turns aren’t whiplashy but they still throw you into your ride partner.
Oh and I got air on this mouse!
Borg Assimilator
Clarisse: 2.89 out of 5
Comments: I was excited to ride this coaster ‘cause it’s like batwing, a neato flyer. However, the experience was nothing like batwing. Its really headbangy, which is a problem in a flying coaster when your head is forced against the headrest. This coaster was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t enjoy what should have been a fun ride. I rode this alone, only cause you cant bring any bags onto the queue. The ride op said that it was because the dispatch platform is different from the platform where you get off. He lied, they’re the same.
Mike: N/A out of 5
Comments: OK, get this. You can’t get on the line with any bags, and the only lockers available are all day for 8 dollars. The other choice is walking back to the parking lot to drop off your bag. Cla rode solo while I watched the stuff. Thanks Carowinds!
While I sat below it waiting for Cla, a lighter dropped from a train above, was not caught by a net and landed about 6 inches from a baby stroller. At another unnetted section where the riders are face down above the paths, a large stain of liquid lay directly under where the car passes.
Spongebob 3D
Clarisse: 3 out of 5
Comments: A nice way to relax! Maybe not after lunch though. Motion simulator rides are fun, 3D effects are fun and Sponge bob is fun…it was fun.
Mike: 2.6 out of 5
Comments: A piece of advice – don’t ride a motion simulator ride with a camera around your neck. The weight places you In the chair and room and hurts the “motion effect” feeling. Regardless, the Spongebob cartoons are ok, as is this attraction. But don’t wait in line for it or anything.
Scooby’s Haunted Mansion
Clarisse: 3.85 out of 5
Comments: Final score 1800 to 630. There are some differences between this ride and the one at Kings Dominion, these differences make this one better. There is no spot light on the gun, which makes it more challenging to aim. The decorations and animatronics are better with larger than life sized characters, which do cool things in response to the shots from your ‘gun’.
Top Gun
Clarisse: 4.92 out of 5
Comments: This suspended ride is almost flawless. There is some head banging which is negligible if you consider all of the elements of the coaster. There is a trough (an unenclosed tunnel) and an actual tunnel with mist that made me giggle every time we went through it.
Mike: 4.9 out of 5
Comments: A hair raising, forceful, suspended coaster that delivers 2 tunnels, tight turns, unexpected loops, and seemingly close clearances. The lift hill over the parking lot and a piece of boring straightaway prevent it from being perfect.
Super Saturator
Clarisse: 3.8 out of 5
Comments: There are some significant differences between this supersaturator and the one at Hershey: it is not as high and there isn’t as much area for riders to splash on unsuspecting (or suspecting) passersby. I rode this coaster alone as well because there is no way to avoid getting soaked (along with your stuff) walking up to the coaster. There is a spot to put stuff at the exit-wet stuff that is. So if you care, take your shoes and socks off before even coming close.
Mike: N/A out of 5
Comments: [Type Description of Attraction here]
Carolina Cyclone
Mike: 2.5 out of 5
Comments: When I rate a coaster lower then a boomerang, take note. This steel multi-looper pretty much has nothing going for it except the sensation of going upside down a few times.
Carolina Gold Rusher
Mike: 3 out of 5
Comments: A mild mine train that redeems itself by having a great… personality. It’s kind of hard to explain past that.
Clarisse: 2.75 out of 5
Comments: Mine train, cutesy fun…I’m not generally thrilled by mine coasters but this one was better than I thought it would be. Kids like it too. Big people will have trouble fitting. A big guy let his really little kid go on with a stranger (the kid was too little to go on by himself – he was really cute, stoic, with cornrows, a little gangsta).